Ring traveler



J1me 19. P. c. WENTWORTH 2,121,647

RING TRAVELER Filed NOV. 1, 1937 Patented June 21, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIE RING TRAVELER Philip G. Wentworth, Providence, R. I. 7 Application November 1, 1937, Serial No. 172,132

4 Olaims..

This invention'relates to ring travelers for spinning and twisting yarn and to the method of making the same.

In recent years the ring and traveler principle has been applied to the spinning and twisting of worsteds and woolens. A deterring factor, however, has been the difficulty of manufacturing ring travelers in all the various sizes, weights, shapes and bends required.

Travelers are heat-treated to impart to them the necessary quality of hardness so as to resist wear, due either to contact with the ring or the abrasive action of the yarn, and the necessary quality of temper to enable them to be sprung onto the ring.

The ideal traveler is one which will take a uniform heat treatment throughout so that it will be uniformly hard throughout and will wear down uniformly in operation. If the traveler is softer in one section than another, it will not wear down uniformly. This will cause it to exert an undue frictional drag on the yarn, with consequent variation in the twist imparted to the yarn.

The ideal traveler is also one which presents the minimum of friction to the yarn.

Where both of these requirements are satisfied, the traveler is long-lived, exerts a more even tension on the yarn, and the yarn is a more even yarn with a more even twist. The limiting factor, however, which has heretofore made it impossible to produce travelers satisfying these requirements in all the wanted sizes, weights, shapes and bends has been the wire itself from which the traveler was fabricated.

Traveler wire has been either flat, round, or half-round in cross-section.

Travelers made from fiat wire have the disadvantage of presenting sharp cutting edges to 40 the yarn.

Travelers made from round, or half-round wire cannot be manufactured in all the wanted sizes, weights, shapes and bends, because of the stubborness of the wire.

When .round or half-round wire is used for travelers of smaller sizes or weights, the bending dogs of the traveler-making machine tend to out off the traveler horns. When round or halfround wire is used for travelers of the heavier sizes or weights, the larger gauge wire is even more stubborn and it is difiicult if not impossible to impart the required bends and shapes to the traveler.

With these difliculties in mind I have devised my present invention. According to it the 'wire from which the traveler is made is rolled into elliptical shape before being fabricated into a spinning or twisting traveler of the desired size, weight, shape and bend. Such wire originally may be of any desired cross section but is preferably a round wire.

The rolling operation not only compacts and reforms the fibres of the wire so that it will take on a uniform temper and hardness when heattreated, but results in a traveler which is of smooth, rounded surface throughout so as to ofiier the minimum friction to the yarn. Thus the traveler is of substantially uniform hardness in all areas and. will wear down uniformly in service.

Travelers made in accordance with my invention may be successfully manufactured both in much smaller and in much heavier sizes than has heretofore ever been possible, thus adapting them especially for use in the worsted and woolen industry. The tension exerted on the yarn by my traveler is a more even tension and the resultant yarn is a more even yarn with a more even twist than ever heretofore attained.

The principles of my invention may be embodied in either a ring spinning traveler adapted to be operated on a spinning ring having a horizontal flange or to a twisting traveler adapted to be operated on a vertical ring. Both types of traveler are illustrated in the accompanying drawing wherein Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective of the elliptical rolled wire from which my traveler is fabricated.

Fig. 2 shows a conventional ring spinning traveler fabricated from such Wire, typical cross sectional views in various areas thereof being appropriately indicated.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing a conventional twister traveler fabricated from such wire.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing a modified form of twister traveler in which the ring contacting face of the traveler back is flattened so that the traveler in this area is of half elliptical cross section, the remaining areas of the traveler being of full elliptical cross section.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged section which may be considered as taken on any of the indicated section lines 5--5, of Figs. 2, 3, and 4, and Fig. 6 is an enlarged section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 4.

The wire from which my travelers are fabricated is a wire which has been rolled into elliptical shape as indicated at in, Fig. 1. Such wire prior to rolling may be of any desired cross section but is preferably a round wire, and the rolling step may be carried out between conventional grooved rolls.

From such wire the ring spinning traveler R of Fig. 2 or the twister spinning travelers T and T of Figs. 3 and 4 may be fabricated.

In both the ring spinning traveler of Fig. 2 and the twister traveler of Fig. 3 the cross sectional shape of the traveler in any area thereof is a full ellipse.

In the modified twister traveler of Fig. 4, however, the ring contacting face of the traveler back is flattened as indicated at l I throughout the area indicated generally as a. Thus, any cross section taken through the area a. is a flattened ellipse, whereas any cross section taken outside the area a is a full ellipse. 7 r

All forms, however, exhibit the essential characteristics of the ideal traveler, as heretofore set forth.

What I therefore claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent'is:

1. A ring traveler comprising a member bent to conventional traveler shape and exhibiting in all areas thereof an elliptical cross section whereby the surface of the traveler is smooth and rounded and devoid of cutting edges.

2. A twister traveler comprising a member bent to conventional twister traveler shape and exhibiting in all areas thereof, except through a limited portion of the ring contacting face of the traveler back, a fully elliptical cross section whereby the surface of the traveler is smooth and rounded and devoid of cutting edges and in said excepted area exhibiting a flattened elliptical cross-section with the flattened portion of the ellipse disposed towards the ring on which the traveler is adapted to run.

3. A ring traveler comprising a member bent to conventional traveler shape and exhibiting in all areas thereof a cross section, a portion of which is enclosed within an ellipse and the remaining portion of. which is enclosed within a smooth outline.

4. .A'ring traveler comprising a member bent to conventional traveler shape and exhibiting throughout substantially its entire bow portion a cross'section which consists of a full ellipse.

PHILIP C. WENTWORTH. 

